‘McDonald’s theory’ for North Korea can’t work without human rights
A plan to transform North Korea into a modern economy — which one might call the “McDonald’s theory” — has a huge hole in it: It can happen only if… Read more »
Category: Democracy Assistance and Promotion
Why democracy is in trouble
Is democracy in trouble? Nearly 30 years after Francis Fukuyama declared the end of history and the triumph of liberal democracy, this question is no longer outlandish. But current… Read more »
A homecoming for NDI’s new president
A former program officer is set to take over as the new president of the National Democratic Institute, the Washington-based democracy assistance group. In announcing the NDI board’s decision to… Read more »
What’s next for the West? The new normal
…. is the subject of a symposium on POLITICO. The chaotic outcome of the G7 in Canada over the weekend is simply a continuation of the ongoing demise of liberal… Read more »
Media crackdown raises fears for Pakistan’s democracy
The abduction of newspaper columnist and prominent critic of the military, Gul Bukhari (left), came just a day after the army’s chief spokesman declared that social media users who… Read more »
Civil society fears Egypt’s crackdown signals start of a trend
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Democracy Index classifies four of the countries at this year’s World Cup as “authoritarian” – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Egypt. The results at the World Cup for these… Read more »
Russia – ‘change will come from grassroots’
The accepted narrative about Russia is simple: Vladimir Putin rules and a lemming-like society submits. The reality is more complicated, says Barbara von Ow-Freytag, a journalist, political scientist and adviser at the… Read more »
Assessing Zimbabwe’s elections: another GNU in the making?
Amid indications that the first round of voting in Zimbabwe’s July 30 ‘harmonized’ elections may not produce a clear winner, some civil society groups started putting together building blocks for… Read more »
North Korea’s human rights abuses won’t be raised at Singapore summit
The No. 1 topic at Tuesday’s summit between President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will undoubtedly be the reclusive regime’s nuclear weapons, the Los Angeles Times reports: That’s… Read more »
War against foreign-funded NGOs harms democratic governance
Defenders of democracy everywhere — in the developed and the developing world alike — should welcome foreign funding of local NGOs, according to University of Minnesota professors Ronald R. Krebs… Read more »